Tren de Aragua can be found in cities like Chicago, but to what extent?

CHICAGO (NewsNation) — A notorious Venezuelan prison gang that infiltrated the United States has been in Chicago for nearly a year, putting local law enforcement on high alert.

Tren de Aragua emerged from a Venezuelan prison and has grown into a dangerous transnational criminal organization focused on sex trafficking, drug trafficking, and human trafficking. With over 5,000 members, the gang is Venezuela’s largest criminal organization and has been linked to several high-profile crimes in various parts of the United States.

The gang’s presence in safe cities like Chicago, Denver and New York is a concern, but the extent of its activity remains questionable.

Emails obtained by NewsNation from intelligence officials within the Cook County sheriff’s office show that law enforcement agencies in the Chicago area were alerted to the gang’s presence as early as October of last year.

The gang is described as a “new threat developing among the newly arrived immigrant community,” and Tren de Aragua is described as an organization that has strong human trafficking operations in Latin America and is likely involved in sex and labor trafficking in the U.S.

In an email, two officials from the sheriff’s office confirmed that discussions had taken place about the possibility that a criminal network was operating within the immigrant community and that it was likely “victimizing members of that population.”

“It appears we now have confirmation of this,” the email reads.

Tren de Aragua in Sanctuary Cities

In addition to Chicago, law enforcement officials in New York City and Denver have also confirmed the gang’s presence. All three cities were the final destinations for buses sent by Texas Governor Greg Abbott from the southern border, filled with migrants.

Robert Almonte, a former U.S. Marshal and deputy chief of police with the El Paso Police Department, told NewsNation that Tren de Aragua has had a U.S. presence for the past two years.

Gang members have been linked to the shootings of two New York City police officers and other violent acts. Almonte said the group’s activities in sanctuary cities could be even more problematic.

While many cross the border in search of a new life or to seek asylum, the Venezuelan gang travels to the cities because they already have accomplices there to continue their criminal activities, Almonte said.

“If we don’t address them, they will become an even bigger problem than they already are,” Almonte said.

However, tackling the problem also presents challenges.

Gang members often have recognizable tattoos, such as the Nike “Jumpman” logo and other designs specific to Tren de Aruagua, according to emails obtained by Chicago-area police.

But at the border, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials often struggle to separate gang members from others crossing into the U.S. because of the challenges of screening people crossing from Venezuela, Almonte said.

Tren de Aragua’s reported clash with Chicago gangs

Members of Tren de Aragua have been linked to violent crimes, including murder. However, the extent of the gang’s presence in places like Chicago has not been determined.

The New York Post reported Sunday that members of the Tren de Aragua had not only moved to Chicago’s South Side, but were also in conflict with local gang members.

The report was based on interviews with former gang member Tyrone Muhammad, who served 20 years in prison and now runs a street patrol and a violence-protection program. Muhammad alleges that Venezuelan gang members who arrived in the U.S. and flooded Chicago’s migrant shelters are now taking over local apartment buildings.

Chicago police investigate the scene of a shooting in Chicago. Five alleged gang members have been charged with murder in the shooting last year of Chicago rapper Carlton Weekly, also known as “FBG Duck,” in the fashionable Gold Coast neighborhood that prosecutors say was part of an ongoing violent effort to protect gang territory on the city’s South Side. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune via AP, File)

While Chicago police have confirmed that the Tren de Aragua is in the city, they have not yet responded to Muhammad’s claims in the New York Post report.

“When the black gangs here get fed up with the illegality and criminal activity of these immigrants or non-citizens, the city of Chicago will go up in flames and there will be nothing the National Guard or the government can do when the bloodshed is in the streets,” Muhammad told the newspaper. “It will be blacks against immigrants.”

Muhammad did not respond to an interview request from NewsNation on Monday.

Police investigating claims related to Tren de Aragua

In early September, a 911 call was made claiming that 32 Venezuelan migrants had taken over an apartment complex in Chicago. The report made its way to social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and went viral after being shared by Elon Musk and others.

Chicago Police Department officials investigated the claims and found no such incident. The alderman for the area, Jeanette Taylor, also denied that anything had happened and blamed the rumors on political motives.

“It’s better for them to make it look like black people and people of color are fighting each other than to deal with the real issue and actually create policies that make everyone safe,” Taylor said, according to the Chicago Tribune.

In the Denver suburb of Aurora, rumors also circulated on social media about Venezuelan migrants taking over an apartment building with semi-automatic weapons.

Aurora police could not confirm gang activity, but said in a statement that “they are aware that elements of the TdA are active in Aurora.”

The department said it was gathering more evidence to show the gang was linked to crimes in the area, but said it would be inappropriate to make “conclusive statements” about specific incidents.

Chicago Gang Expert: Tren de Aragua Takeover Unlikely

Lance Williams, a professor of educational research and curriculum studies at Northeastern Illinois University and an expert on gangs in Chicago, said his conversations with gang members in South Side neighborhoods suggest otherwise, despite social media posts and claims to police about problems caused by Venezuelans.

“I have not seen any substantial evidence that Venezuelan gangs were present in any of the hot spots in Chicago,” Williams told NewsNation.

He added: “I’m not saying there aren’t Venezuelan gangs here… but I see absolutely no gang activity and no presence of Venezuelans in the neighborhood trying to take over anything or any conflict between African-American neighborhoods and Venezuelan gangs.”

Williams, whose father was a member of one of Chicago’s first black street gangs, cites the clickbait nature of stories like the one in Aurora, Colorado, as a driver of misinformation when it comes to Tren de Aragua’s activities in Chicago. Williams also said that people with political interests are often the source of information tied to Venezuelan street gangs.

Williams said gang activity in Chicago has changed dramatically over the past 30 years. He said the gangs that are present in neighborhoods are not so much large criminal organizations with hierarchical leadership systems, but rather highly fragmented.

While conflicts may occur on a much smaller level, gang disputes today are very different than they used to be and typically do not cross racial lines, Williams said.

“(Gang) members don’t know the difference between a Venezuelan and a Mexican,” Williams said. “So the very idea that they have a conflict with Venezuelans doesn’t make sense because they don’t understand the difference between the two.”

Risks of Ignoring Tren de Aragua: Law Enforcement Expert

Almonte said cities are at significant risk if they ignore the presence of Tren de Aragua. Working with local police departments, Almonte said law enforcement should focus on neighborhoods where migrants from Venezuela are currently living.

In many cases, the gang members target their fellow countrymen by extorting them and enticing them into criminal activities.

Almonte said if police officers encounter members of the gang, city officials should determine the extent of their presence and “go after them.”

“When a mayor or any other city official comes and denies that they’re there, they’re just hurting their own people,” Almonte said. “It serves no purpose. I think they do it because they don’t want to give their city a bad image, like, ‘Oh my God, we’re being taken over by a gang.'”